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Thursday, 28 May 2015

Two
days to the expiration of their tenure, some governors have jetted out
of the country, thereby refusing to personally hand over power to their
successors.

They include Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, and his Katsina State counterpart, Ibrahim Shema.

Also, some governors, who did not travel out, have decided to shun the inauguration ceremonies of their successors.

Preparations
for the inauguration of the nation’s 4th Republic intensified on
Wednesday with Nigeria and the international community gearing up for
the ceremony.

The President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, is expected
to be inaugurated as the country’s Chief Executive and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces while governors are expected to
be inaugurated in their respective states.

Lamido left Nigeria last week after handing over to the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Abdu Babura.

The
governor, whose tenure expires on May 29, had before departing Nigeria
for Saudi Arabia told newsmen last week Thursday that he was taking a
well deserved rest.

At the conference, Lamido confirmed that he was leaving behind a debt of N2bn.

Putting
the debt issue in perspective, the governor explained that of the N14bn
debt in the name of the state, N12bn, which his administration used in
the construction of the Dutse International Airport, was owed by the
Federal Government.

Like Lamido, the outgoing Governor of Katsina State, Ibrahim Shema, has jetted out of the country ahead of the inauguration.

It was gathered that Shema had last week Thursday left the state on an official trip to Abuja.

Further
checks revealed that the governor had after performing the official
inauguration of the state’s housing complex in Abuja, last weekend, left
the shores of the country on Saturday night.

It was learnt that
the Secretary to the State Government, Mukhtar Ibrahim, would represent
Shema during the handover ceremonies slated to be held at the new
multi-million naira Karkanda Stadium.

This is coming at a time
when it is becoming clearer that some Peoples Democratic Party
governors, who lost their states to the opposition All Progressives
Congress, have concluded plans to avoid being physically present when
their successors take over the reins of governance.

The Rivers
State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has said that he will not be present
at the swearing-in of his successor, Chief Nyesom Wike.

There
had been speculations that Amaechi may not be present at Wike’s
inauguration as a result of the controversy surrounding the presidential
and governorship elections in the state.

But Amaechi, who spoke
through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. David Iyofor, explained that he
would rather be at the swearing-in of the President-elect, Muhammadu
Buhari, on Friday, in Abuja.

“Governor
Amaechi at the inauguration ceremony of Wike? He (Amaechi) plans to
attend the swearing-in of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari,” Iyofor
said.

The
Executive Assistant to the Plateau State Governor, Mr. Clinton Garuba,
confirmed that his principal, Mr. Jonah Jang, is most likely not going
to attend the handover ceremony.

Garuba explained that Jang was
likely to heed the advice of his close aides to steer clear of the
inauguration of his successor, Mr. Simon Lalong, on Friday.

Garuba
explained that since there was no constitutional role assigned to the
outgoing governor during such an occasion, “it will be unwise for him to
be there.”

He revealed that the outgoing governor had already
written a letter inviting Lalong to the Government House, Jos, to
collect the handover notes on Thursday.

Garuba
said, “Since it is the Chief Judge that swears in the governor, Jang
has no role to play there. He is more or less going there as a
spectator. So, we have advised him not to go but he has the discretion
to heed to our advice or not.

“But
he has written to the governor-elect to come to the Government House on
Thursday, where he will hand over the notes to him officially.”